"Dead Girls Don't Talk" | Post Mortem | Forensic Files

Welcome back to Postmortem. I'm CBS News correspondent Jonathan Vigliotti filling
in today for Anne-Marie Green. And joining me is 48 Hours producer Michelle Fanucci to discuss our latest report on
the murders of Christy Giles and Hilda Cabrales, two friends who went home with David Pierce after a night out in Los
Angeles in 2021. Pierce and his roommate Brant Osborne took the women to two separate hospitals
the following evening. Both women had elevated levels of fentanyl in their systems and tragically they both
ultimately died of drug overdoses. Both Pierce and Osborne denied involvement in
their deaths. At trial, Pierce was also charged with rape for seven Jane Does and they
testified about Pierce's pattern of violent sexual assault. Michelle, thank you for joining us.
Thank you for having me. Before we get started, uh a reminder, if you haven't listened to the 48 Hours
episode yet, you can find the full audio just below this episode in your podcast
feed. So, go take a listen then come back here for our conversation. Michelle, you have been covering this
case from the very beginning. Our first 48 Hours episode, I believe, aired nearly 2 years ago. This was before
Pierce and Osborne's trial. And I wonder and I imagine a lot of listeners and viewers want to know the
same, what has it from your perspective been like to watch this case develop over the
years? This is a case that started just as a, you know, in a headline of of two women dropped at separate hospitals. We
really didn't know if it was just a drug overdose case, a tragic drug overdose. But about 6 days into this,
I met with Yan Cilliers, who is Christy's husband. He looked at me in the eyes and he said, "Trust me. This is
foul play. You know, I know my wife. I know something happened." And he I He said, "I know they were held against
their will in that apartment." And he was right. But what was what was he like? What what
state of mind was he in? He was in absolute shock. I will never forget it. I mean, he was in that adrenaline of
trying to figure this out. I remember when we sat on his couch, he had a group of friends in you know, in the back
kitchen. And he said, "I I have to have them stay with me at all times. I I'm scared what I'll do with myself if they
leave." And so, it was it's it's the worst of the worst and um uh your heart breaks so much, especially
when you spend so much time with these families. You know, I I I know Michelle, you and I have talked about this and
I've been reflecting on the ripple effect a tragedy like this can have with friends, family and an entire community.
And to that point, I have a connection to this case in a very loose way. My husband briefly met Hilda at an event
through mutual friends. In the neighborhood I live in, two neighbors that I could see outside my front door
both knew these women. One was close friends with Yan Cilliers and through that friendship knew Christy. Uh the
other neighbor used to live in Monterey, Mexico and dated Hilda for several years. They broke up there. They both
moved separately at different times to LA and reconnected as friends. And I first learned about this case in 2021
Thanksgiving. Uh I had that neighbor over for Thanksgiving. He came here uh distraught at times, couldn't even get
words out and told me about what happened, how just the day before Hilda was taken off of life support. Uh I
asked if they were comfortable with me bringing this story to 48 Hours. Not so that I could report it, but just so that
the story could get out there. And Judy Tygard, the executive producer, the amazing executive producer of 48, let me
know it was already on their radar and I can't tell you the relief that it brought to the family members of Hilda
and Christy knowing that there was this media attention being focused on trying to figure out what went wrong. And to
that point, Christy and Hilda, they clearly had a lot of friends and family who didn't just care about them, but
really advocated for them. And I've been thinking about Yan Cilliers and the incredible detective work that he did.
Were you impressed? Were you surprised by Yan's determination to find Christy? I was personally really touched. And um
I was also very impressed. He said, "I would go to the ends of the earth for my wife." And that is what he did. When Yan
was trying to get in touch with Christy, he was out of town. Uh he couldn't get any responses. He wasn't getting
responses through text. So, he went and checked his the location on his cell phone and saw that Christy was at an
unfamiliar address. And this was very early in the morning. And of course, we learned that address was later the
apartment of David Pierce. That location for Christy then changed hours later to an emergency room. So, Yan delivered
all of that information to investigators. I was speaking with Detective Jonathan Vanderlei, who told
me, "Without that information, connecting the dots would have been so much harder, could have taken days if
not longer to pinpoint what exactly had happened." Absolutely. And this was a case where uh looks like it they were
partying, they were doing drugs. Very easy to write this case off. So, early on Yan posted on social media
um about the case looking for information and uh he received messages from women who had
ex- bad experiences with Mr. Pierce um who were sexual assault victims themselves and he had encouraged them to
go forward to police. In the hour we talk about how police learn that while Christy and Hilda were in the apartment,
Pierce's downstairs neighbor heard someone moaning in pain on and off for 6 hours. Now, neither Pierce,
Osborne, nor their friend Michael Ansbach, who was also in the apartment at the time, called for help. Ansbach,
we need to point out, he was charged. Those charges were eventually dropped due to insufficient evidence. That
downstairs neighbor, though, also didn't call for help, which initially I had the question why. Uh but during
our reporting, we found out that there was more to this story. Can you explain? The woman who lived there was about to
call 911 and her husband said, "No No, you don't want to mess with David Pierce. Just let it go." Um And
um she ended up not calling um unfortunately. And that just shows how this man sort of instills a sense of
fear that, you know, people do not want to mess with him. You know, David Pierce
was maintaining very early on and really throughout that he was just trying to help Christy and Hilda. But I think
about those 6 hours. And I know it's so difficult to think about where you had an I I think we later learned it was
believed to be Hilda that was moaning in pain for so long. Those aren't the actions of someone that's trying to help
them. And there's another layer to this cuz we weren't able to get to all of this in the show. But the men first
attempted to drop Christy off. Remember, Christy was the first uh person that was
taken to a hospital. They went to one that was closest to their home, to Cedars, which is about an 8-minute
drive. They went to the back entrance of the hospital. They were told that they needed to go to the front entrance, but
David Pierce, according to Osborne's testimony, didn't want to do that. So, instead, they drove to a completely
different hospital, Southern California Hospital, 20 minutes south of their home.
Does that sound like the behavior of people that are trying to provide swift help? No. No. I mean, none of none of
his actions add up. They didn't leave their names at the hospitals. They were disguised. You know, no license plates
on the cars, all of that. to shift gears and dig into really the main update in this hour, which is the
trial. Uh detectives told me, and we always knew this, that it would be a tough case to prosecute because there
was evidence that Christy and Hilda voluntarily took recreational drugs that night.
And ultimately, that's why the DA asked other women to come forward to share their experiences with Pierce.
Uh Michelle, you attended the trial. You heard several of those Jane Does testify.
What was that like for you? First of all, it was one of the most fascinating trials I have ever sat in.
There were 12 women in total. Seven Jane Does who had allegations of rape by Mr.
Pierce. And the other the others um sexual assault experiences. They stacked those women up one by one
by one by one, all 12 of them. With the same similar eerie stories. "I met this man. He promised me a
career. He was a Hollywood producer. Um He gives me a drink. It tastes a little salty.
All of a sudden, I can't remember anything and the next memory he I wake up and there's someone on top
of me." You know, it's story after story after story. And then the prosecution brings in Christy and Hilda's story. It
was a really powerful way to prove um this man's pattern um and how he preys off of power and
control. They really created a a an MO, a way of of consistent behavior, this this pattern
that ultimately led to the the of Christy and Hilda. Absolutely. I have kind of a two-part question for
you because we spoke with Jackie. To the jury, she was known as Jane Doe number two. She was brave enough to share her
story with us as well. But our interview with her was postponed a few times because there was still that fear. You
were in communication with Jackie during this process. What was that fear? She was scared of David Pierce ever seeing
the light of day. You know, if there was a mistrial or something like that. She,
you know, described him to me as a very dangerous person. And that's what he does. He intimidates people. He scares
them so that they are silent. She told me, "Once I hear that guilty, we will talk, but until then, I I She
was She was too scared to do the interview, which I totally respected. And Jackie is a real inspiration in
herself. She came to LA to to go to law school, and she was looking for a an apartment. And that's how she came
across David Pierce through a Craigslist ad. And he had her come to the apartment,
offered her a drink. She takes the drink, and then she's blacked out. And her next
memory, she wakes up and she fights this man off of her. This is how bad she was
drugged was that she couldn't even feel her legs. So, she's crawling down his apartment stairs screaming.
And runs to her car and stays in her car long enough to sober up. She truly fought for her life.
This forever changed her life, forever haunted her. She did a lot of work in therapy, and she is and a remarkable
woman who's become an attorney, who wants to help other victims. And she is you you know, you will see her on the
episode. She stares right at the camera, and she's brave, and she speaks for Christie, she speaks for Hilda, she
speaks for herself, and she speaks for all the women who've been silenced by Mr. Pierce and who've been harmed by Mr.
Pierce. I think about the power dynamic. His apartment, David Pierce's apartment,
was the place where he was in power. But then during the trial, that power shifts. You have the Jane Does, people
like Jackie, Jane Doe number two, now in power. And what struck me was the image that
emerged of David Pierce, at least him now after being in jail for several months or years, and how much he
changed. Very much not the producer he pretended to be, this younger looking guy with his dark hair.
What we saw was a man with gray hair wearing glasses who looked at times defeated. Yeah, the the women who
testified sometimes had a hard time pointing him out. Mhm. Because they couldn't recognize him. Yeah, I could
understand. And so different than what the prosecutor pointed out in his photos, that quote-unquote Zoolander
face, that duck face that he put on in his photos. He just was stripped down. The real David Pierce was sitting there
in court. Welcome back. So, Michelle, another key moment at trial was when Pierce took the
stand himself. And now, this was against the advice of his defense attorney. I'm
wondering what insight you had into that decision. And also, for you, what it was
like to see him testify, to see him take the stand. I mean, I only wish cameras were in the courtroom.
Um because that that was a show in itself. And originally, he asked the judge to
give a narrative, testify through a narrative, meaning, you know, he wanted to control
what he was putting out there. He didn't want to be cross-examined like everybody
else has to be. So, he was trying to control He wanted to come out with his own monologue to set everything up.
Yeah. That seems highly unusual. Everything about this man is unusual. And the judge said, "No, this isn't the
David Pierce show." So, then he said, "Well, then I'm not going to testify then." And then he changed
his mind at the last minute. And he's up there, and um my god, it it was something I've never
seen before. Basically, he he said that all the women, they all wanted him. Everything was
consensual. And And even one Jane Doe, our the Jane Doe that we interviewed, he says,
"I've never even met that woman in my life." Just straight out lying. Straight out lied about the night they came home
to his home. "I I didn't give them drugs. I didn't give I was walking my my puppy while
they were in my house." I mean, it was all wild. And there was no remorse. There was no sense of like,
"I'm so sorry." Nothing. Yeah, this grand image in his head of what transpired. The prosecution
and the cops say that all the evidence the state provided contradicts his story. Yeah. This didn't make it into
the show, but it was something when I heard, I struggled to understand initially
because Detective Jonathan Vanderly told me that before the arrest, as they were
still trying to get enough evidence to bring Pierce in, he was already taking steps,
it appeared, to flee. He was talking to women in Ukraine on dating apps. At trial, the prosecution was able to show
some pretty damning Google searches. Michelle, can you take me through this? LAPD detective sent me over the Google
searches. So, I have them right here. We have international money transfers, best
places in the world to disappear. Mhm. Best places to meet girls in Kiev, Ukraine.
Strip clubs, exotic massages, and sex in Kiev. Brothels in Kiev, nightlife in Kiev,
one-way flights, apartments in Kiev, how can you track someone by their passport
number? And lastly, penis enlargement. Okay. Let me Let me stop you there. Everything else you have described up
until that point describes a man looking to flee and still with a one-track mind. He is
wanted in connection with the murders of two women and alleged sexual assault, and he is looking for sex in another
country and ways of fleeing and outwitting authority. Yeah, I know I I I just I can't stop even thinking about it. When
you went up on stand and explained why were you looking for apartments Yeah, what what was his What was his
answer to this? He said he was going to make a documentary on the Ukraine war like Sean Penn did.
So, this plays into his whole I'm a I'm a movie producer thing. What's wrong with this explanation? Well, the Ukraine
war had not started at the time of those Google searches. So, that's what I'm saying. That's why when he went on
stand, it was just like everything got debunked. You know, something else that didn't make it into this hour, but I
think helps shed some light on Pierce's character is that when police first searched his
home, they found, and this is their description to us, a shrine to Ron Jeremy. For those who don't know Ron Jeremy,
he's a former porn actor who was indicted in over 30 counts of sexual assault. Michelle, you were able to learn more
about who Pierce was by talking to his family. What did they say? Yeah. That was a sad conversation. You
know, I spoke with his sister, Allison Pierce, who has nothing to do with the family now
and and blames, you know, David Pierce for destroying the fabric of her family. And um
she says that Ron Jeremy was like worshipped in in their household. So, he idolized Ron Jeremy. Allison, of course,
didn't like any of that. And she plans to give an impact statement. She wants everyone to know that he is, in a sense,
a villain. And she feels terrible for what happened to Christian Hilda and and what he's done to so many people. The
fallout from this tragedy far and wide, impacting so many people. Pierce's defense attorney, Jeff
He argued that because Christian and Hilda were using drugs before meeting Pierce that night, there was no case for
murder. But we interviewed him, and during our interview, I pressed him on his true
feelings on Pierce. I want to play a clip that didn't make it into the show because I think
it highlights how Voll was really thinking. Separate yourself from the defense attorney.
Mhm. You're a father. Put yourself in in that setting as you are. Would you be saying the same thing
right now? Taking the role of attorney-otomy? No. No. If if I'm the the average uh
person looking at this case, looking at 48 Hours, looking at some some articles in in the paper,
um you're probably going to think that it's about time they got this guy. That That will be the part of me that's
not the lawyer. That says a lot. I'm I was really surprised he he he said that to you. It was sort of a humanizing
moment for a defense attorney. I agree. I I I was surprised, too. You were in the room with me, and I don't know if
this was your impression as this was unfolding. I felt like Voll was waiting for me to give him permission to say
those things, that he wanted to separate himself from his client. He was struggling to
balance his two hats, the hat as the defense attorney and the hat as a a father having to
digest the allegations and what he later described as a mountain of evidence against his client.
Yeah. Yeah, no, he he was he was doing the best to be the best defense attorney and and I think he he did succeed in
that. Um but he was wrestling with a moral and ethical dilemma, it felt like. Um
and that was David Pierce. He described him as a very difficult client. What did
he mean by that? Difficult? I mean, yes. Difficult, he stole the jury list, he stole his
documents, he was trying to to create a mistrial and say that he knew the jury. How did How do we know that he stole
those documents? How did this come out? Well, we don't know exactly how he got his hands on them, but the the judge
addressed in court that he was taking court documents and he was warned twice, I believe, throughout the trial to stop
this behavior. God, if if I'm putting myself in his defense attorney's shoes, this is the
worst-case scenario. And I I think we should point out that that Val, as we make it very clear in the episode, he
was sixth in a long line of other defense attorneys that didn't last. Exactly. So, let's go to the conclusion
of this trial. It was February 4th, 2025. Two days of deliberations, the jury found Pierce guilty of the
first-degree murder of both Hilda and Christy and guilty of sexually assaulting the
seven Jane Does. How did he react when the verdict was read, Michelle? We have him on camera,
of course he has his mask on, but he's slowly shaking his head like no. No no no no real emotional response
besides his head shaking. The jury was deadlocked when it came to Brant Osborne. This is Pierce's roommate who
helped transport Hilda and Christy to the hospital. He was charged with accessory after the
fact in his case, there was a hung jury and a mistrial was declared. Can you tell me, if you know, what's
next for both cases now? So, the latest is Pierce fired his his attorney and plans to file a motion
for a new trial. The state has not announced their decision regarding Brant Osborne. Mhm.
You have sat with this tragedy for so many years now. You, I feel like, have come to truly
learn who Christy and Hilda were, their friends, their families. Yeah, you know, I I
I can't stress enough how much myself and I know our whole team truly cares about
Christy, Hilda, the victims and the their families. We've gotten to know them so well and I
am mostly so inspired and amazed at all the 12 women who testified and came forward bringing justice to two women
who went out to have fun one night and came in the hands of a very dangerous man, David Pierce.
And they fought for those those women and in doing so, they fought for their own stories. So well said, Michelle.
And I can't thank you enough for taking the time today to chat with us. Really, thank you for joining us. Thank you,
Jonathan. It's been It's been such an honor to work with you on this one. Same here. If you like this series, Post
Mortem, please rate and review 48 Hours on Apple Podcasts and follow 48 Hours wherever you get your podcast. You can
also listen ad-free with a 48 Hours plus subscription on Apple Podcasts. Thanks again for listening.

Brave survivors speak out after a man charged with murder for poisoning two women tells a friend, "dead girls don't talk." Join CBS News correspondent Jonathan Vigliotti and "48 Hours" producer Michelle Fanucci on "Post Mortem" as they discuss their latest report on the murders of Christy Giles and Hilda Cabrales, who died after David Pearce drugged them. They discuss the twelve "Jane Does" that came forward to testify against Pearce at trial, the personal connection Jonathan had to the victims, and the Google searches Pearce made prior to his arrest that suggested he was trying to flee to Ukraine.

Crime. Social justice. Impact. "48 Hours" investigates the most intriguing crime and justice cases that touch on all areas of the human experience including greed and passion. "48 Hours," which premiered in 1988, has developed a rich history of original reporting and impact journalism that has helped exonerate wrongly convicted people, caused cold cases to be reopened and solved, and along the way changed lives.

For video licensing inquiries, contact: licensing@veritone.com

Brief Summary

David Pierce was found guilty of murdering Christy Giles and Hilda Cabrales, highlighting a pattern of sexual assault against multiple victims.

Key points

The Murders of Christy Giles and Hilda Cabrales. Two friends tragically die of drug overdoses after a night out, raising questions about foul play.
Yan Cilliers' Determination. Yan Cilliers, Christy’s husband, tirelessly seeks justice for his wife, believing in foul play.
Trial Testimonies. The trial reveals a pattern of abuse as multiple women testify against David Pierce.
David Pierce's Testimony. Pierce takes the stand, claiming all encounters were consensual, contradicting evidence presented.
Pierce Found Guilty. David Pierce was found guilty of first-degree murder and sexual assault.
The Verdict. After two days of deliberation, the jury finds David Pierce guilty of first-degree murder.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

Trust me. This is foul play.

Yan Cilliers speaking about his wife Christy's case.

1:49WatchApr 3, 2025

Tension

75/ 100High tension

More from 48 Hours

Solve the Crime

Read a real case one clue at a time, then see how your call held up against the investigators.